I often combine many things here and do use the word " chat " liberally as I feel it is like being face-to-face with you and that I am chatting in an unedited, unscripted fashion thus more relaxed and intimate and revealing. I want to tell and share through words and pictures the stories behind things almost casually. I hope it is heart-felt. I add when and where I am to fix them in my time.

Cleveland Park Wine Cleveland Park Beer, Liquor & Wine
Featuring a wide, international selection of fine wines, micro-brews and
spirits
TIME TO GET SERIOUS : Almost That Is! It's NOT QUITE The End Of Summer Yet and
so we still have things for you all to stretch out your holidays last two days
of August for example? I know, I know : work always gets in the way and yet
ONCE YOU GET OFF we are always here and more than ready to help you all slide
smoothly through the rest of the day and into the evening when you can fully
relax and take the load off.
IT SURE WAS AN INTENSE WEEK last week with first an earthquake on Tuesday and
then a hurricane on Saturday passing through our region. I don't know about you
but it was pretty intense here all of last week starting around 3PM on Tuesday
and we want to thank you for all your shopping here. I am at this moment trying
to focus and get organized and ready for Thursday the 1st of September when
lots of " new and exciting " wines will be rolling through our back door. I've
got lists and prices and emails to go through today and tomorrow as I am
running out of time quickly.
I HAVE FOUND SOME STUNNING WINES to share with you all and one of them is the
2000 NICOLIS Amarone della Valpolicella Classico ( a half bottle ( 375ml size )
that on Thursday, September 1st, 2011 will be On Sale for $17.99/ now they are
$27.99 - that's a $10 savings : two ( 2 ) half bottles make a full 750ml bottle
at that would be $35.99 a bottle and that's a ridiculous price ) and it's so
pithy and earthy and old-style. Definitely a great food wine and not so much
one for sipping on it's own. A hearty-robust food taste and this hearty-robust
food wine would be a great combo. I have purchased the last five cases and
these are mature wines in a half-bottle that may be taken on picnics and on
camping trips. It's for convenience and of really high quality, too.
WE HAVE MORE CHAMPAGNE, the LOUIS De VARANCY " Cuvee Prestige " Brut
Non-Vintage from Champillon coming on Thursday as well : the last five cases of
this as well On Sale @ $28.99/ Reg : $33-$35. It's so smooth and bright and
fresh and elegant and perfect for sipping all by itself. It needs no food.
Creamy and not yeasty heavy - lovely and enticing. With the 10% case discount
it's only $26.09 a bottle : what a deal! Come get some while you still can at
this great everyday price for real French champagne. I highly recommend this
for the price.
OUR NEXT ' Big-Theme " Wine-Tasting Is On Wednesday, September 14th, 2011 (
5:30-8:30PM
ALSO For Thursday, September 1st, 2011 : WE are getting in a couple of " new "
Chilean wines called VINA AROMO, a dry red Carmenere and a dry red Merlot (
Riservas both ) that sold for $16.99 a bottle and are now On Special for
$10.99. Greg and tried them with our local rep recently and it was funny that
at first I did not like the Melot at all. I found it tight and hard to taste :
no flesh and no finesse at all. The Carmenere we both liked pretty much
immediately and I thought and later said : " What's not to like? " ANYWAY, we
ordered twenty-five assorted cases and I went back to taste them again ( that's
twenty or so minutes later ) and I really liked the Merlot - even more than the
Carmenere. I liked the more classic style that the Merlot took : slow to open
and reveal it's charms. The Merlot will always be a more tight, more food wine
whereas the Carmenere is much fleshier and more generous and easier to enjoy
with or without food. It will be easier to sell the Carmenere but ultimately I
think the Merlot is the more interesting wine. We will see : only time will
tell.
DOS PASOS & ALMA Chilean Wines BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! This will be great as
Manuel Rojas of both will be our Special Guest for our Chilean Big-Theme
Wine-Tasting on Wednesday, Sept. 14th, 2011 ( 5:30-8:30PM ). There is no charge
for these tastings and so you will be able to try a full assortment from Manuel
which includes the IN SITU ( the 2007 Caberent Sauvignon is delicious and
drinking like five dreams come true, one for each day of the work week! ) wines
as well as the DOS PASOS and the ALMA wines.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME ALMA ( 5 types from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carmenere, $14.99 for all of them ) and DOS
PASOS ( Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, $9.99 for them all ),
coming soon to Cleveland Park Wines. This is exciting. In the IN SITU wines we
will have the Syrah, Chardonnay and the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Plenty of
choices for you all. The ALMA and the DOS PASOS wines will be here this
Thursday as well : only two days away!
BUT HELLO THERE! WE also have an ITALIAN Dry Red Pinot Noir VALUE : from
Lombardy, Italy up in the north where Milan is : this 2009 Pinot Noir CA' DEA
is according to sommelier Andrew Stover : " soft and juicy, really big fruit,
not a lot of tannin ... ". I agree with him. It's a crowd-pleaser. It's On
Special for $11.99/ regularly $14.99. Wow, this will turn some heads,
especially with this weather that we are enjoying now. I bought fifteen cases
and after those are sold the price will revert back to $15 a bottle. Come get
some while you can. This is a real treat, very special.
BUT HEY GUYS , this email is much more than just wine. I have to include other
things like the really successful news of our GREAT LAKES beer tasting (
Dortmunder Gold, Commodore Perry and the Burning River were some poured ) this
past weekend. The local rep had a number of selections open and I must say I
got a chance to try them all and they were really showing well. I was very
pleased. I really enjoyed the Oktoberfest myself.
ALSO From SANTOS :
1) Pumpkin Ale from SCHLAFLY, this special release ( On Special for $12.99
a 6-pack of 12-ounce bottles, 8% alcohol by volume, with spices/ cinnamon,
nutmeg and cloves, schlafly.com ) : " I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have
it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion " Henry David Thoreau. I
agree.
2) Pumpkin Ale from POST ROAD ( On Special for $8.99 a six-pack of
12-ounce bottles, 5% alcohol by volume ) is ale brewed with pumpkin and spices
and the most-popular each year.
3) India Pale Ale New Belgian " Ranger " ( On Special for $3.99, Alc 6.5%
Alcohol by volume, 1 Pt., 6Fl. Oz bottles ) Is a great deal according to
Santos. It's from FAT TIRE. Cheers.
THEN LET'S NOT FORGET RAVI while we are at it! A young lady came and poured
some of the NUDE Vodka ( On Special for $24.99 / regularly $34.99 ) from Bend,
Oregon : simply seductive.
HERE ARE SOME " Other " Suggestions from Ravi :
1) 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the AUCHENTOSHAN distillery (
$46.99 ) is really special and has not been here for quite some time and people
have been asking for it and it's finally NOW back!
2) Basil-flavored SQUARE ONE Organic Vodka ( $32.99, Rigby, Idaho ,
www.squareoneorganicspirits.com ) is brand new and really exciting/
3) Sweet Tea flavored Vodka from SWEET CAROLINA ( $14.99, alc 35% by
volume , sweetcarolinatea.com ) is also just arrived here in Cleveland Park
Wines & Spirits.
LAST NIGHT I DRANK some of the RIEBEEK CELLARS 2009 Swarthland South African
Cabernet Sauvignon ( $6.99 ) that blew me away it was so velvety and bright and
fresh and round and full and supple and fruit-forward with no attitude or edge.
What a wonderful and inexpensive treat! I have a few bottles now in the store
and much more coming on Thursday. Highly recommended.
CALENDAR OF Week's Tastings :
Friday, September 2nd, 2011 ( 5-8PM ) : We have Theresa Morrison here from
her won company pouring some of her current releases from Oregon ( CHATEAU
BIANCA ), California, Chile and South Africa. This will be fun. Love the
CHATEAU BIANCA unoaked Oregon Chardonnay On Special for $11.99 / Regularly
$14.99 ). It's really showing well now.
Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 ( 2-6PM ) : We have Alexis coming to pour
for us some of the L.A. CETTO Mexican wines ( Petit Sirah, Chenin Blanc,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, $11.99 each ) and the WALLABY CREEK South
Eastern Australia estate-bottled wines, too ( Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Chardonnay and Shiraz : $9.99 each ). Join us : there is No Charge for these
tastings : everyone is welcome.
COME GET READY FOR LABOR DAY with us as we start the weekend here
together. We have plenty to celebrate with and to help everyone relax and enjoy
these last few days before getting back to the grind of it all. Thanks for all
your help and belief in us. We look forward to seeing those of you that have
been away.
STILL HOLDING ONTO THE SUMMER? Contact Paul Cate at : CRUISE PLANNERS : Local :
2020618-4575 or toll free at : ( 800 _ 618-4575 paul@luckydogvacations.com,
www.luckydogvacations.com. Paul's a really great guy : you will like working
with him, so easy to talk with. Cheers, TONY
Please visit our website below for more information, events and specials, and
our calender of wine tastings!
[1]www.clevelandparkwine.com
If you have any orders, suggestions or questions, you may e-mail us at
[2]sales@clevelandparkwine.com or call (202) 363-4265.
References
1. http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/
2. mailto:sales@clevelandparkwine.com

I use this picture as no disrespect for the sport and the Tour De France, I just add it as I am curious how the original bikes looked like when the sport started? And I do like all the color on this bike above, too : it is all so very inspiring, and the stamina and courage and drive that these men on their bikes have is so inspirational. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/30/13 Below is what I copied and pasted from Facebook. TODAY looks also to be a beautiful day here in northern Virginia, but I gathered yesterday from the report that it would be lots of rain in France?
Wow, now THIS WOULD BE a great way to go down the Champs Elysees today as the Tour De France ends! What a display of wonderful colors, and harking back to the past with some fun and history. What did the first bikes look like when the Tour De France started? I do not know. I watched some of it yesterday on t.v. and got all charged up and excited and really enjoyed the whole thing, what I could catch quickly as I was just tuning in for the very first time : so colorful, so beautiful, such force, stamina, energy, drive and constant motion - LOVED it, inspired me to go work harder outside in my garden on a very beautiful, low-humidity day and cut back overgrown branches and weeds, raspberry bushes done now, etc ... cheers, HAPPY TUESDAY everyone, and cheers to the winner today of the Tour De France! Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn and thanks to this designer for posting this today : quel coincidence! TONY 7/30/13

Monday, July 29, 2013

I TOOK these two pictures here from the Skinny Girl Facebook page. Hope you do / they do not mind? Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Happy Monday January 29th, 2013 : it's absolutely gorgeous here in northern Virginia on my day-off, and I am still waiting on a reply to my original request months ago? Read on, this is what I just wrote and copied and pasted here. Cheers, TONY
PS : Things are tough now for everyone, especially is small beer, liquor and wine stores that have always been that and not big chains that just keep adding things on for more profit. Please help support small stores that support specific products like yours and not simply " an army " of products from under the sun. We have sold the Skinny Girl Margarita ever since it was launched. Cheers, TONY Listen to my podcast with Malcolm Riddle here on my chatwine.blogspot.com post. Have a great day.

Bethenny, I am still waiting for a response from you? When are you coming to D.C. to promote your SKINNY GIRL? Let's work together as a team? We can create some real vitality and excitement and sales, too - of course! So many people believe in you and your mission and support you. Summertime is perfect for this. Take care, Happy Friday July 26th, 2013. Hope you are well, your family, too. Take care, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Here in Cleveland Park our Northwest Washington D.C. " happenin' " neighborhood , 20008 ... proud of where we are and what we do to support each other and our fine neighborhood. TONY 3423 Connecticut Avenue. N.W. 202-363-4265 tonythewineguy@gmail.com
Top Stories of 2012: Real Housewife wine, Bordeaux troubles, a mysterious death, a high-profile counterfeiting case and Amazon's return to wine sales. The year in wine was tumultuous, to say the least: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/47820. Pictured: Bethenny Frankel launched her Skinnygirl line of wines.

We like your DONKEY & GOAT Vineyards & Winery wines : have the 2010 " Five Fifteen ", $35.99, the 2) Carignane 2011 Mendocino unfiltered, $30.99, and the white " Stone Crusher " 2011, $32.99. Happy to have them. A good customer was in the store yesterday and was looking at the dry rose wines of ours. She said that she had seen your other wines on our shelves and wondered if we had the rose? I said that " no " we did not have any now. What's the current story and vintage for it? Maybe we can get some here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Northwest, Washington D.C. in our Cleveland Park neighborhood? Let us know? Cheers, Happy Friday July 26th, 2013 on this low-humidity afternoon here that's hot and with baby-blues kies, puffy white small clouds - really nice. Cheers! When are you coming out to do an owner-winemaker in-store wine-tasting here? Let's talk?!? Take care, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

All in all when we started working with the DONKEY & GOAT Winery wines we bought four wines. It was because of their exceptional stories , tastes , styles - ultimate personalities resulting from people that are dedicated, have a vision, a fantasy, a method, a madness, CHARACTER that starts with a dream and a vision and not the other way around.
Here's a family, a couple, a small group wanting to do something and to " add " something to the equation of the ocean of wine already " out there " and readily available to the wine-drinking-buying public. Let's educate them, let's give them more choices, let's not try and " dumb them down " and assume that they can and will always only appreciate the safe and narrow middle band of flavors available to them in the whole wide-world spectrum that is " ot there " but systematically being squelched by the larger forces at play.
There are exceptions of course, but they are indeed exceptions and we / I at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C., 20008, want to focus on the wealth of experiences, taste sensations, stories, epiphanies, serendipitous moments of pure joy that may be discovered and enjoyed here in these DONKEY & GOAT Vineyard wines.
I will have to write more, I am now at home and so will continue this later. Come see us at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and talk to Michel Dumas and me ( Anthony Quinn ) about all that you can expect to broaden both your joy and experience and taste sensations with these marvelous DONKEY & GOAT Winery wines.
Cheers and have a happy Sunday, July 29th, 2013 today. Come see us at the store tomorrow and get started with these dry reds and whites. You will not be disappointed, rather, you will be amazed and your mouth will open wide in the form of a silent " O " as flavor after taste after texture hits your palate and one or more of your senses till you go into automatic pilot and " enjoy the ride ". Cheers, TONY 7/29/13

Hello Elyse Winery! TODAY, Thursday, July 25th, 2013 here in our Northwest Washington D.C. neighborhood of Cleveland Park, in Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits 3423 Conn. Ave. Michel Dumas and Anthony Quinn ( me ) have enjoyed / discovered for the first time your 2010 Petite Syrah that was brought to us earlier by Regis our friend and local rep for Roanoke Imports in Virginia. Regis stopped by and your wine was the fifth for us to taste, with 14.5% alcohol by volume I wrote : '' Fruit-forward, good, elegant balance - nice now , medium body. ... I had just come back into the store from getting my lunch at CHIPOTLE and I did not know that your ELYSE Petite Sirah, 2010 would be awaiting my return. Regis was nice enough to pour me some to enjoy with my meal of white rice, black beans, pulled pork and a corn dip of some sort. I tried it and some of the sharpness-hardness of the wine was showing then and so I left my glass here and am just returning to it now. Perhaps three hours later NOW the wine is softer, brighter, rounder and with less edge and bite that it had when I finally sat down to enjoy my lunch after Regis' visit.... I just had another sip : a touch of plum and dried prune, dry, dusty-dry yet a fruit that's well integrated with the wood it sees?!? It's a food wine, I should have chilled it slightly : it's warm here by my desk and computer. It's showing well again as it was when I first sipped it. But it has warmed up and need to be chilled perhaps 30 minutes. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn I am thrilled to discover this, we will order it - have ordered if from Regis to arrive here the first week of August, 2013. I am reminded again today tasting your wine how it is a living thing like you and me and that temperature is essential when tasting, enjoying and evaluating wine. Respect, too. Cheers and thanks. Go to our Facebook page and please LIKE us as we have just LIKED you, TONY Happy Thursday, it's less humid, hot and bright and blue-skied and LOVELY here now. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/25/13

( I copied and pasted this from the ELYSE WINERY Facebook page : I hope that you do not mind? Cheers - TONY )
WE ALSO HAVE and sell at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits at 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 THE " Happenin' Neighborhood ", the dry white Rhone No-Stranger blend of grapes on our shelves that is our best-seller of ELYSE WINERY these days. I need to recommend it NOW some more having tried the Petite Sirah 2010. I will include vintage and price once back at work. I am home and just wanted to add this now as it is all so very fresh and vital and important in my life NOW. SEIZE the NOW, SEIZE the HOUR, TRY ON for SIZE,FIT & FEEL these two delightful wines from ELYSE WINERY and see - taste - smell - imagine - dream - FANtaSIZE them and you, and your interaction, your play, your jousting, your engagement, your roles, your parts, your stage and get comfortable, relax, lose the stress, accept your own palate, OWN it, be PROUD of it, do not FIGHT IT : WORK with it, reJOYce-VOICEyourOWN in IT, these two wines and whatever else at the moment : it's all yours - LUXURiATE-EAT-DRINK UP it ALL. Yes, I'm an artist, a poet, a bit of a showman, a bit of the sane, the insane, the tame, the LEWD/LUDicrous,too! Hope you enjoy and do not mind the mix : it's all ME, the package, the flame, the joy , the OHHHH BOYYYYY! Cheers, Happy Sunday, July 28th, 2013

Michel Dumas and Anthony ( me ) Quinn tasted these excellent California wines of Paso Robles, California's DAOU Vineyards & Winery wines ( " On Top of Daou Mountain - Brothers grow and bottle premium Bordeaux-style wines in Paso Robles " - a story written by Andrew Adams in WINEMAKING Technical Review ) . Michel and I liked three-four of the wines we tasted very much and will have them soon here. Stephen wrote this to me today and I thought it would be fun to share it here as the wines are really fine and have an amazing story of two brothers from Lebanon that made it here in the United States. It's an increbible story with wines that really do have a place here, certainly here in our store where we like to promote and talk about small wineries that have both a vision and a dream still and are not just about a concept, then a label, and then something to put into the " concept bottle " as the last step. Cheers, thanks Stephen and Ton ( our local rep from Southern Distributors ) : here's the email and response :
Thanks Stephen. I referred to the tasting of these wines throughout the day. It was a wonderful eye-opener for me and I enjoyed the wines, the Green-labelled Chardonnay and the Cabernet Franc-based wines, too. What Chateau was the brother a cellar rat at in Bordeaux? We will let Tom know when we can get the wines, the best thing is for you and he both to send a reminder the first week of August to us. Cheers, TONY Would the owners or one of them enjoy using our store for an in-store wine-tasting to showcase their wines? ALSO : check out our active Facebook page at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and my blogs at : chatwine.blogspot.com : BOTH of which I work at daily . We have to work together as a team. Cheers, Happy Thursday, July 25th, 2013 : it's cool and breezy here with no humidity so-to-speak-of TODAY : incredible way to start the day, and what a relief after so much heat and humidity and having the space around you suck the life from us... TONY
On Jul 24, 2013, at 3:25 PM, Stephen Klein wrote:
... ( I just added this a few minutes ago, 4:22PM - cheers, TONY ) ...
It was impressive yesterday Karen as the wines continued to expand and to evolve in our glasses : the fruit came out slowly and gracefully : with all three dry reds being in balance from start-t0-finish. My IMMEDIATE COMMENT to Michel, Stephen and Ton was : what finesse, what elegance, what breed and so balanced and subtle, not heavy-handed, not too tannic or too alcoholic, no columns of flavor that I could neither enter, wrap myself or my tongue and palate around : I liked these Paso Robles reds and was surprised and pleased by my reactions. They tasted more like real wine to me, like wine in balance, like wine I love from Europe, like the Lebanese wines of LOVE from Serge Hochar ( that I have met and tasted now with three times? ) and also from MASAYA that is owned in part by a Bordeaux house as well as the brothers of Chateauneuf-du-Pape : Vieux Telegraph : both of which I sell here. I have met two of the three principles of MASAYA, the young gentleman from Lebanon and one of the two brothers, the one that promotes but does not make the wines! Cheers : it's an exciting worked indeed Karen , George and Daniel! Take care, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/25/13

( I copied this picture from the Facebook page of EVESHAM WOOD Winery - hope they do not mind?!? ). Cheers, TONY 7/25/13
Drinking the EVESHAM WOOD Pinot Noir " La Grive Bleue " 2011 with my lunch of black beans and white rice and steak : from Chipotle and it works in a wonderful back-handed way as the utter bright . delicate toast bright red-berry-cherry - all delicately toasted-roasted-blessed-flamed-funneled-fashioned-loosely-yet-finely : a medioum-to-light body from start to finish : a wine that is more suggestive, more relaxed : a perfect bouquet and definition that stands it's ground in more lovely and subtle ways, never shouting, never being just " columns " of flavors that have to be " worked " so that they reveal anything at all! HERE we have a complete wine that I enjoyed from the start, and though it is not the prefect wine for this meal it pleases and soothes me and my frazzled nerves of stress, it simply in it's elegance makes things better for me. TOTALLY UNEXPECTED, I walked out for lunch and found that Regis from Roanoke Imports here with your EVESHAM 2011 Pinot noir to taste. We still have the " Cuvee J " , $54.99 a bottle, 2010, 13% alcohol by volume that we are selling SO this " La Grive bleue " will be our next EVESHAM WOOD Pinot Noir that we sell. Thanks EVESHAM WOOD Vineyard, thanks Regis, thanks Roanoke Imports! Cheers, Anthon ( TONY ) Quinn Happy Thursday, July 25th, 2013 everybody ... TONY
PS : I'm an artist so I write with picture-images that I create. Hope you enjoy this approach. TONY

I got this earlier from Austrian Wine Importer Klaus Wittauer in an E-mail and this is the second part of my response to hearing this news about the MITTELBACH Zweigelt dry 2012 Austrian rose and the talk on CBS NEWS mentioned below. ... ...
It's always some form of : " BUT do they have a good retailer ?!? Did they invite a good retailer? Did they consult a good retailer?!? They should have! It's imperative that they do : it's late, BUT NEVER too late Cheers! " Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/24/13

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50151540n
Best summer wines
David Duncan, the president and chief executive officer of U.S.-based Silver Oak Cellars spoke with "CBS This Morning" alongside wine writer and former award-winning sommelier Josh Wesson about the rise in American wine drinking and offer their picks for the best summer wines.
Mittelbach Rosé - Zweigelt 2012
My " other " response Klaus is : " Too bad that they did not have a good retailer on hand " for this discussion on national t.v. : what a shame that was, what a lost opportunity! It would have been interesting to hear someone that's in touch with many customers all day in a less-formal, more relaxed, one-on-one situation to discuss these and other topics involving wine. They should do a Part Two and invite a wine retailer to give their program a more complete and balanced and authentic validity Klaus! You should mention that to them. Take care, if asked I know I will, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/24/13

I JUST WROTE & POSTED this to Austrian importer Klaus Wittauer when he sent me the great news of this 2012 dry indigenous grape variety called the Zweigelt and the lovely and elegant rose it produced. Cheers to Martin Mittelbach and his family Klaus! Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/24/13 Happy Wednesday evening everyone here in the greater Washington D.C. region where today there has been a beautiful sunny, bright, sunshiny day with clear baby-blue skies and low humidity : about time! TONY

GREAT NEWS Klaus, I remember drinking it on a beautiful day with you all back in 2005 or so when we went as a small group and we were sitting outside at a long rectangular table up above the Danube river outside at a restaurant owned by them ( ? ) , and the first wine that we enjoyed with Martin the young and toselled hair, scraggly unshaved beard owner was his family's delightful dry and refreshing and bright and sprightly and and alarmingly charming rose with just enough rose color to entice and please and rouse one's curiosity to taste it to see how much flavor and character it could possibly hold/conceal in it? A lot is the almost immediate answer, then and now. I think we were onto something way before now. Cheers, congratulations to Martin and his family. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

( I just copied this picture above from the Facebook page of CERETTO. I hope that they do not mind? Thanks, grazie. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Happy Wednesday July 24th, 2013 ...
I'm home now after a busy day of selling, recommending, tasting and " waxing poetic " of/over wine with our customers of the Cleveland Park Northwest, Washington D.C. neighborhood, 20008 ; now drinking some CERETTO Bricco Asili Barbaresco " Bernardot " 2008, 14.5% alcohol by volume, thanks to our excellent local rep Jody Jackman of Winebow Imports. Jody was nice enough at the end her busy day to still find time to drop off what was left of a bottle of this delicious, classic, earthy, pungent, spicy, sticky Italian close-to-the-earth 100% Nebbiolo from CERETTO. It was edgy, it was tar, leather, tobacco, herbal, dusty-dry medium-to-lighter-bodied red that is WITHOUT DOUBT a food wine as it's angular and a touch zesty-zippy- a frivolity of dried fruits, raisins, cherries, cranberries and others that dance and rise up as if they all come from around your mouth and gather on the center of your tongue and RUSH UP like a volcano except instead of lava what comes out is this VIBRANT tartness, tanginess, freshness, zippiness, RUSH of - at first - cool-kool-flavors of activity that slowly mold and mellow and warm and settle and lull and rock - like you're now sitting in one of those MOST-COMFORTABLE hammocks and someone- SOMEHOW, you are rocking and swaying and you are starting to feel a slight sense of you body rising up from your belly and you are a touch weightless and comforted, and less tense, in a lovely state of reverie and a smile and a contentment starts to wrap itself round you ... and it went so wonderfully with the spaghetti that my wife made for me that I enjoyed outside as the female mosquitoes somehow, magically, did not molest me much, and the pasta and the tomato and meat sauce, the Parmesan cheese all OPENED the CERETTO more for me to STRETCH OUT FULLY into/onto as I am now, beautiful color - bright, reflective, a sixth or so taste and I'm in heaven on earth, with a tartness, a sour touch of prunes as I swallow and the final flavors release their essences over my eager tongue. BRAVO CERETTO! Grazie, e a presto! Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/24/13
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I JUST ADDED here, copied and pasted from my Facebook page the following on the CERETTO Dolcetto. Cheers, TONY Happy Sunday July 28th, 2013 !
The CERETTO Piemontese Dolcetto which we have on our shelves ( that we tasted recently with winemaker and Jody Jackman ) was very nice, too. This past week Jody dropped off an open bottle to try with the Barbaresco as well that I have already written about here. ... Now for the Dolcetto ... Classic leather, spice, earth, dusty-dry warmth and bramble and dried fruit/dried flowers of lovers pressed between pages of a book for a souvenir, and SO MUCH MORE : medium-to-light-bodied, a fine food wine, filled with Piemonte expression, a wonder to hold on one's tongue and on the palate, to swallow, to have the flavors spread and warm and make the parts they touch of us stir and rouse and become charmed- on the alert- ready to interact , to talk and participate, to flirt : Ahhhhh, the pleasures that are wine, company, food and art, too ... cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/28/13 I still have a bit of the Barbaresco CERETTO that I will finish to tonight and report on. Happy Sunday July 28th, 2013 everyone.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED above in the headline header how they rescues a child that was buried many feet under the sand as he suddenly sank when playing with his friends and they tried to dig him put with their hands until the crane and men arrived and would not stop until they found him, his lungs filled with some sand but still alive as there had been air trapped inside from the roots of a tree or the tree itself : a miracle or close to one, lucky to still be alive! Now that's something to CHEER ABOUT!
THESE ARE CREATIVE TIMES filled with hope and inspiration/ motivation , care and concern and doing things to help make a difference. We are having the times of our lives working 150% to bring you what's available through us for your pleasure, enjoyment, education, edification and amusement. Real life takes place here in this long rectangular space. We know so many as a result of this very special space where you can grow and feel comfortable and both share and learn. We welcome Amy to our neighborhood. She was just here this past week.
Amy came and tasted this Saturday with Mak Congdon and bought his bottle of dry white Italian Oltrepo Pavese made from the Pinot Nero grape, the 2012 FRECCIAROSSO " Sillery " , $18.99, 13.5% alcohol by volume. She also tasted the wines of BOORDY VINEYARDS, Hydes, Maryland, the red blend ( brought to us by Susan Rayner recently of the BOORDY VINEYARDS ) ; and the dry " new " Cotes Du Provence rose that we will have from Kathy Joseph ( Le Grand Fromage - French Cheese Seminars & Tours ) and Robert A. Shive of ST. TROPEZ WATER, LLC - " Provence Rose Wine Period " is Robert's motto.
AMY GOT TO MEET them both as well as some of our regular customers. Robert and Kathy came to us through part-owner Martin Lumet of the French " classic " restaurant LA CHAUMIERE in Georgetown across from the Four Seasons Hotel. Merci Martin. We will have Robert and Kathy's rose here the first week of August and it will sell for $19.99 : unique packaging, really elegant, bright and fresh and lovely dry rose.
ALE, BEER, CIDER -
SANTOS HAS A " Whole New " Collection !
1) Birra ETRUSCA Bronze An Ancient Ale Brewed with honey, hazelnut flour, heirloom wheat... ( $13.99 , 1 Pt, 9.4 Fl. Oz bottle, 8.5% alcohol by volume, brewed & bottled by DOGFISH HEAD Craft Brewery, Inc. Milton, DE. www.dogfish.com ) ... and also in this ale ... myrrh, gentian root, raisins, pomegranate juice & pomegranates. I'm in on this, sounds like a glass will be enough for me to enjoy thoroughly.
2) THE MAHARAJA Imperial India Pale Ale - Supremely Limited - from AVERY BREWING CO. ( On Special for $8.99 a bottle, 1Pt 6 Fl. Oz., 10.4% alcohol by volume, Boulder , Colorado, since 1993 ) : " ... this Imperial IPA is regal, intense, fierce and mighty ... fashioning a royal scarlet hue and an exquisite malt essence. "
3) :" Old Crafty Hen " Superior Fine Ale Vintage Ale Imported From England ( On Special for $10.99 a 6-pack of 12-ounce bottles, 6.5% alcohol by volume, www.oldspeckledhen.co.uk for more information ) : " Crafted by the master brewer of Old Speckled Hen. this superior fine ale combines distinctive malty taste ... ". Cheers.
RAVI & His LIQUEUR / LIQUOR Selections:
1) YENI RAKI Liqueur from Turkey ( $25.99, 45% alcohol by volume, is produced from grape and anise seed, distilled and bottled by Mey Icki San, Ve Tic, A.S. www.yenirakiusa.com for more info ). How many of you know it, have tried it? Please comment if you have. Cheers.
2) SPEAKEASY Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey ( $30.99, 47.2% alcohol by volume, distilled in Kentucky, bottled by Bardstown Club Distilling Company, Nelson County, Kentucky) : original Sour Mash BOURBON. Cheers.
3) KIRSCH Selection Special Reserve " American Whiskey " , aged 20 Years, distilled from Bourbon Mash, 02/27/87 ( On Special for $59.99 a bottle, 86% Proof, bottled by HIRSCH Distillers, Weston, Missouri, USA ) : " Hirsch Selection represents a hand picked series of single barrel whiskies chosen expressly for connoisseurs of small batch fine spirits ... " It used to be much easier for us to get on hands on. Now it's so scarce and that is very hard on a number of our customers. What can you all do to remedy this awful situation? Cheers.
4) Single Malt Irish Whiskey Aged 16 Years from BUSHMILLS ( $88.99 a bottle, 40% alcohol by volume, matured in three woods, since 1608, original Grant distillery , www.buschmills.com for more info ) : aged in bourbon, oloroso sherry and port wine casks for a rich fruitiness and malty nuttiness. Cheers.
THIS PAST SATURDAY it was nice to chat and taste with Mark Congdon and Audry. She had been listening to the opera Othello by a Chilean conductor and told us both that Othello was pronounced " Otello " with the " h " being silent. Mark liked that a lot, made him smile.
AUDRY TOLD US about her dog that has allergies and that used to scratch itself but now expects others to do the scratching for it. Audry motioned how her dog would lie all legs spread out. It's " chill " here and we do have some interesting conversations around wine.
AUDRY BOUGHT the 2009 SASSETTO 100% Sangiovese from Italy's Romagna region, $17.99, and the Italian Oltrepo Pavese dry white Pinot Nero 2012, $18.99 a bottle. Both showed beautifully and both sold really well. It was a really good Italian tasting including a fine Prosecco, too.
WINES From Michel & Tony :
WHITES & BUBBLY :
1) Extra Brut " Le Fare " MEROTT, $20.99, 11.5% alcohol by volume, from CASA VINICOLA MERETTO , Mark Congdon poured this here this Saturday. It's an upper-scale Prosecco that's as bright, light, fresh, silky, airy and refreshing as can be with definite character and definite breed. Wonderful really, great for this hot weather and humidity!
2) RAPIDO 2012 Veneto Pinot Grigio with the Yellow Vespa on the label, $ 10.99 a bottle,`overdelivers with more dryness, flavorfulness ( my own mad-up word - like it?! ), and pizazz and brightness for such a reasonable price.
3) MASO POLI 2011 Alto Adige Pinot Grigio ( single vineyard ) , $22.99, has such extra body, more like the Volvos-of-old- more armature, more depth, more caches and trunks of mineral and citrus and reserves of creaminess that have a wonderful accent of nuttiness : wonder- WONDER-ful!!!!!Full, feel fully-free to wander, to discover the layers of charming flavors here in this MASO POLI PG!
4) Terra Di Dora FIANO DI AVELLINO 2010 white wine from TERREDORA DIPAOLO, $27.99, 13% : these wines ( 4 whites and 2 reds ) , all dry, are some of Italy's very, VERY finest. I LOVE how they do not copy any other grapes or any other styles : they are what they are : excellent food wines with character, integrity and flavor and taste that is distinct and best with food.
THIS 2010 IS FULLY MATURE : " ripe, honey ", says Franceen that sells it to us. Franceen will be here this Saturday from 2-6PM tasting out some of her wines from up and down the map of Italy : from Puglia, skipping across the water to Sicily and then all the way up to Trentino that hugs Switzerland. What fun it will be.
REDS :
1) Dry Rosso Nero D'Avola blend from Sicily's fine COLOSI Winery, this 2010, $11.99 is a distinctly tasty, flavorful and fine food Italian wine. What value, the owners have been here, we have loved selling the wines now for years.
2) Marques De Zenate dry Tempranillo red 2012 from Spain's Valencia region, $8.99 : AGAIN a wine that way-over-delivers for the money and all the nuances of flavors, levels of textures, depths of accents. WONDERFUL, very special for this ridiculous price now.
3) Rapido Red Sangiovese dry red from Italy's Puglia, this 2011 AGAIN way-over-delivers : what a finely-tuned/nuanced/balanced effusiveness of fruit-forward toasty rich cherry-berry flavors, and only $8.99 a bottle.
4) Cotes-Du-Rhone dry red blend , this 2011 Haiut De Brun from Alain Jaume & Fils , $15.99 is perhaps the most friendly, fruit-forward wine that Jeremy and I have tasted yet. WE both commented on this the other day. It's lovely, medium-to-light-bodied, flavorful, not heavy : great when you grill. Cheers.
5) Teroldego indigenous dry red from the Italy's LECHTHALER Vineyard, this 2010 at $17.99 has some real flavor and dryness and is always best with food. Franceen will taste it this Saturday from 2-6PM. Join us, never any charge.
WEEKEND TASTINGS :
FRIDAY, JULY 26rd, 2013 ( 5-8PM ) : We have Enrico and possible Brigitte coming from IL PIOPPO Italian Artisinal Family Wines to pour a selection of their fine Veneto, Abruzzo, Marche, Tuscan dry reds and white. It will be fun. We may ask them to ficus on their Veneto wines and also throw in a sweet wine, too, a sparkling one as well, maybe even their extra virgin olive oil, and some of their food products, too?!? Will let you know really soon. Cheers.
SATURDAY, JULY 27th, 2013 ( 2-6PM ) : We have Franceen Kahng coming from Vias imports to pour many of the wines I spoke about above : 1) RAPIDO Pinot Grigioo 2012, 2) MASO POLI 2011 Pinot Grigio, 3) LECHTHALER Teraldego dry red 2010, 4) COLOSI Nero D'Avola red blend from Sicily. JOIN US, NEVER any charge - everybody welcome.
WEEKLY WEDNESDAY 3-PART Non-Sparkling/still WINE SALE : Call : 202-363-4265 if you cannot come.
1) BUY ANY BOTTLE at $20 a bottle or over of non-sparkling and SAVE 20% OFF the marked sticker price.
2) BUY ANY 6 or more bottles of non-sparkling wine and SAVE 15% OFF the marked sticker prices.
3) BUY ANY 12 or More bottles of non-sparkling wine and SAVE 20% OFF the marked sticker prices. If you cannot come call and pay tomorrow, Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 and SAVE BIG here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits!
I AM SURE I HAVE MISSED many things and am sorry for that. Time to post this now. It was fun to have Aliyah announce this past Saturday : " It's the white wine of my dreams ", referring to a bottle of the Condrieu Les Grandes Chaillees from MonteZ Stephane that she had with her father in a Parisian restaurant! We will try and find it for her.
IT WAS ALSO nice to have Michael Doyle and his Brazilian fiancee here , Jessica Borges, of the PALAIS PRIVE French Luberon Rhone region of France. We have signed by Michael now for gifts the 1) PALAIS PRIVE 20102 dry white, $20.99, and the 2) PALAIS PRIVE Luberon dry rose, $20.99 : both wines that are elegant, vibrant, distinct, gracious, bright and LOVELY. Wow, love them both. We spoke of the BORGES port wines and of the wines of Brazil like the LIDIO-CARRARO Merlot that we sell from the Vale Dos Vinehedos, $13.99 .
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, come see us, TONY

THESE ARE CREATIVE TIMES filled with hope and inspiration/ motivation ,
care and concern and doing things to help make a difference. We just finished
raising some money with your help at our last Big-Theme Wine-Tasting for Metro
TeenAIDS. That felt good. We are looking for another local
cause/charity/organization that needs our help when we hold our next Big-Theme
Wine-Tasting of the wines of New York. WE will have three tables of New York
State wines and one of roses from around the world. Seeing as Greg Siebert that
works with us here is from Rochester, New York I have asked him to be in charge
of these wines from New York as he seems to know them pretty much inside-out. I
can't wait to see what he arranges. I will work on the table of the roses from
around the world which will include some sparkling as well I hope. SO : MARK
YOUR CALENDARS and bring family and friends when you come. It's from
5:30-8:30PM and there is no charge for the tasting though we will be asking for
$5 donations to whichever local cause we select. We would also like to extend
this to schools here that need our help and start with some of them when school
starts back. SO AGAIN : If you are reading this and have any ideas or
suggestions please do share.
LAST WEEK'S EMAIL GENERATED A FAIR NUMBER of responses and I am especially
pleased and encouraged by that. I have delayed making any decisions on certain
events as I want to hear from as many of you as I can before doing. Please do
share any of your concerns or observations with us as we feel very much a part
of this community and want to work as closely with as many of you as we can.
Why not? We depend on one another so please respond to this email and let us
know about the wine/beer/liquor events that we can do in your buildings/ any
private tastings as well for smaller groups of you in your homes / and any
causes-charities that are local and that you recommend that we team up with?
Thanks for giving this some serious consideration.
MY NEXT SATURDAY WINE-CLASS will be on dry roses from around the world as a
small " teaser " for the one we will do later on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011.
I will select some from Germany, Austria, California, France, Italy and more.
It will be this Saturday, August 13th, 2011 from 11:30AM-1PM and because I will
be using some fancier wines this time the cost will be $20 a person. Six wines
and all dry and all pretty special. Come check it out. Please call us or
respond to this email. I need a minimum of six people to conduct these classes
and I can assure you that you will go away with lots of valuable experience in
how to taste and evaluate the wines I have selected on your own terms and
concerning your palate alone. That's what counts: what do you personally think
of the wines? If I can get you to know and feel comfortable with your own
palate then I have succeeded brilliantly. It's early to rise for such an
experience and yet many of the most famous wine reviewers like Robert Parker,
Jr. prefer to taste early in the day when their palate is the keenest. We can
discuss this as we taste these fine rose wines. I may even include a sparkling
one or two. Call: 202-363-4265 or simply respond to this email.
Mary Beth one of the last of the contestants on the Food Network's current show
: Top Network Star was just in the store this past week with her son. She was
shopping and the last time I saw her was months ago when she stopped by and
told me that she was going to be one of the contestants. My wife and I have
been following the show and enjoying it and wishing for her continued success.
When she came last week she could not reveal whether she had won or not and we
missed last night's show so we will have to watch it tonight. ANYWAY, when I
saw Mary Beth I mentioned that both the network and the show needed to mention
and incorporate more wine ( or beer or liquor ) into it as they are all
essential parts of any meal and deserve more attention. I think it's a big
mistake not to include these more as they often make a big difference as in
when there is a certain number of tastes in both the wine and also in the food
and yet when you combine them there is another taste that is created by this
union. That's what I have always understood is the " magic " in wine-food
pairings. If you want to see pictures of Mary Beth here go to our Facebook page
: Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and check it out. Cheers. It sure was great to
see you once again Mary Beth and we hope that you win this. You are great no
matter what the outcome. My wife said to me recently that she did not know you
as we do here at the store but that she was proud of what you have accomplished
and is a fan of yours. I like that.
OVER THE PAST WEEKEND the Gallo's were in and mentioned that they had just seen
Sheri in California. I asked : " Sheree with the pug-nosed dog?!? " And they
said : " Yes ". And we got to talking and I learned that Sheri our customer
from 3 years ago or so has now worked herself up from being in the tasting room
at PEJU Vineyards to the assistant wine-maker there. A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to
you Sheri. We all look forward to hearing all about it. Please do share. Are
you still getting this store email even after all these years? You can respond
to this email if you are. Tell us all about the experience and what wines you
like the most at PEJU? Share! I did email you earlier Sheri at the winery and
hope that you get that and respond there as well. Cheers.
IT'S TIME FOR SANTOS RIVERA & His Beer : Here's what he has for us -
1) SPRINGHOUSE ALE , a Belgian-Style Farmhouse Ale ( On Special for $6.99,
a 1 Pint 6 Fl. Oz bottle, Willimasburg Alewerks, Williamsburg, VA.
www.alewerks.com ) WILLIAMSBURG ALEWERKS is " new and exciting " here in
Cleveland Park. We did our dinner with them recently over at Dino Ristorante.
Did any of you attend? Share here your observations. Just respond to this
email.
2) Brewmaster's Reserve Grand " Illumination " Ale from the WILLIAMSBURG
ALEWERKS ( On Special for $7.99 a 1 Pint 6 Fluid Oz. bottle, ) is a limited
release : an American Barleywine-style ale. Come check it out.
3) WYLD Organic Extra Pale Ale ( On Special for $9.49 a six-pack, 12 Fluid
Oz. bottles ) is " new and exciting " as well as kosher according to the label!
Wow, this is exciting news. It's from FOUR & BREWING Company in Salt Lake City,
Utah, USA. Come check this one out as well.
WHERE THERE IS SANTOS Then Ravi Can't Be Far Behind. What LIQUOR Do You
Have Ravi?
1) PRITCHARD'S Double Barreled Bourbon Whiskey ( $69.99, 750ml bottle, 45%
Alc. by Volume, 90 Proof , Prichard's distillery, Inc, Kelso, Tennessee ) is
barreled, aged and hand bottled. We will have to get the owner back here as he
is a local and must spend time between us here and Kelso, Tennessee? Anyway,
he's already been here once and we have to invite him back again for an
official tasting here. The last time it was an impromptu visit that we enjoyed
immensely but had no time to alert anyone in advance.
2) FIDENCIO Joven/Young Mezcal ( $49.99 , 40% Alc. By Volume, Santiago
Matatlan, Oaxaca ) is also brand new. " With a neutral-heat oven, we then roast
the agave : sin humo " or " without smoke ". Distilled twice in a custom
alembic still. Delicate yet flavorful, ideal for sipping or in a cocktail.
Great price, too! Cheers.
JUST MET RIKUS NEETHLING of Franschoek, South Africa ( that's where he makes
wine ) and he tasted me with Jeremy on three of his excellent wines ( 2 BIZOE
wines, BOTH sell for $32.99 : a white Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc dry white blend
aged in old French oak barrels and the dry red Syrah that is grown in the worst
soil ever ). The dry white Sauvignon Blanc, the third wine he makes for his
friend and it's made in Elgin and has lovely overtones of apples and is perfect
for this heat and humidity at $19.99. The word " BIZOE " comes from the French
word for " little kisses ". I learned that Rijus did a harvest in France at
the Caves De Pomerol where the famous Picpoul de Pinet that we sell ( $8.99 )
is from in France's Languedoc region. He was blown away to see it here saying
that it, like his wine the Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc dry white BIZOE was only
12.5% alcohol by volume. He said that that is one of the things he learned in
France : to keep the alcohol levels reasonable. He smiled this as he said this
to me. I smiled, too understanding completely. Thanks Rikus. We will carry your
wines here when everything is decided on the wholesaler level. Cheers and bravo
to you.
WINES From GREG & TONY :
WHITES :
1) YELLOW & BLUE 2009 Sauvignon Blanc , Central Valley, Chile, 1 liter
tetra box ( $10.99 ) is a great way to go green and to have something that's
lighter and easy to transport and which is also a great value.
2) Chevery Loire Valley dry white Sauvignon Blanc blend, a 2010 ( $15.99 )
I opened on Saturday here and sure is tasting great. Everyone was pretty much
warmed over by it's charms. Lovely, fresh and crisp and bright with great
accents on minerals and zippy citrus acids, too.
3) Sangria dry white from BODEGA De San Antonio ( $7.99 ) is sangria with
real character and taste. it's stimulating and makes you want to take another
sip or two or three. It's good. Go to : www.sanantoniowinery.com for more info
/ a Riboli Family Selection 1-888-223-1401. Cheers.
ROSE :
1) ZOE ( the Greek word for " life " ) 2010 from SKOURAS ( $16.99 ) is
made from a blend of two popular indigenous grapes : Saint George and
Moscofilero ) : dry and complex and quite satisfying. You have to check this
one out. SKOURAS has been in the local press now for the last two weeks.
REDS :
1) Petit Caprice 2009 Vin De Pays Vignerons De Caractere / Vin de Pays de
Vaucluse, southern Rhone Valley ( On Special for $7.99, 75% Grenache and 25%
Syrah ) is an absolute delight to drink now with all this intense heat and
dollops of humidity.
2) SNAP DRAGON 2008 California Cabernet Sauvignon ( $8.99 ) was remarkably
nice for so little money that Greg and I just had to buy some. Good value-
pleasing.
3) RIOJA VEGA 2009 Rioja Spanish red was open here this past Friday and at
$10.99 it was really well-received. it's got some extra weight and body that
perhaps it got from the addition of some Cabernet Sauvignon grapes? It's a bit
beefier and that pleased many. it's this medium-bodied and chilled slightly
quite fresh and bright and excellent with food.
4) CHATEAU TUILERIE Pages 2009 dry red Bordeaux ( from a great vintage )
this dry red Bordeaux at $10.99 is a true delight and well-worth buying. It's
open and enjoyable even now. Best with a meal.
5) ANCIANO Gran Reserva 2001 Tempranillo Valdepenas ( $12.99 ) is an
absolute steal at this price from a great vintage and a great price and a place
that Ernest Hemingway made famous in his literature. Wow, this has got
everything going for it. Cheers.
6) CHATEAU MOULIN De FERREGRAVE Medoc 2008 ( $15.99 ) is showing really
well now for a Cebernet Sauvignon-based Bordeaux that you may enjoy now. It's
best with food as it still has a slight tartness and edge but it is a
well-balanced wine at a very reasonable price. Cheers.
7) RAMSAY 2009 North Coast, California ( north of Napa and Sonoma ) Petite
Sirah ( $16.99. 13% alcohol by volume - low for California ) is another " real
find " " well-focused and flavorful and quite tasty. With all the interest
today in Petite Sirah in California this is a true discovery and we are
thrilled to have it here in Cleveland Park.
UPDATE : JUST HEARD FROM SHERI Spang the assistant wine-maker at PEJU and this
is what she wrote : " Hello Tony! Great to hear from you! I'm hoping to get
back to DC for a vsit either when I'm back east for the holidays or later
spring. I will certainly stop by when I do! " Sheri I will see about getting
some of the PEJU wines from Ethan our local rep for them. This is all exciting!
Years ago Sheri encouraged me to publish my poems and so I started putting them
here on my email and now have transferred them my blog at :
chatpoetry.blogspot.com. Thanks Sheri.
WEEK'S TASTINGS :
Friday, August 12th, 2011 ( 5-8PM ): We have Alison Somerville from
WINEWORKS in Virginia ( under Michael Shaps, wine-maker- owner ) and we will
taste both the wines from bottle and from the box of the Viognier and the red
Cabernet Franc. We may include a third, too. We will talk to Alison tomorrow I
hope.
Saturday, August 13th, 2011 ( 2-6PM ) : We have Marci Weinstein here from
Constantine Imports to taste a selection of her wines like those of VINI (
Cabernet and Pinot Noir, $9.99 both ) as well as TARGOVISHTE Riesling Dry White
( $10.99 )that is dry and clean and crisp and tart and tangy and I love it!
Great value, too. We will also look at another wine or two tomorrow when we see
Marci. Cheers. JOIN US : NEVER ANY CHARGE for any of our wine-tastings. bring
family and friends and make it a real moment for you all!
MY ART SHOW OF MY OWN ART WORK : It's still planned for Sunday, August 21st,
2011 from 1-5PM and everyone is welcome to come by and see what I have been up
to very recently as since 1978 when I was working in Paris, France. It will be
a span of many years and many of the works are for sale. I have etched in
Paris, France and since worked back in the States with acrylics, watercolors,
pastels and oil pastels, mixed media, pen and ink, too. I have done for years
portraits and what I like to tern figurative landscapes. All sizes and styles
and very colorful and very much a sense of action and movement and fluidity in
my work. Come see and let's discuss art and relax and spend these four hours
together. My address in Annendale Virginia is : 8702 Ventura Lane (
703-978-1008 ). You can call me if you have any questions otherwise COME ON BY!
You can check some of my work out at chatart. Go to : chatwine.blogspot.com to
the main page and scroll down to VIEW COMPLETE PROFILE, click that and then
scroll down to the blog posts and click on the chatart one.
I AM SURE I AM FORGETTING SOMETHING but it's time to finally send this
email and get some of you by tonight. I will open a bottle or two to share with
you all this later afternoon-early evening. Come have a taste or two with me.
Cheers and thanks for all your support. TONY
Please visit our website below for more information, events and specials, and
our calender of wine tastings!
[1]www.clevelandparkwine.com
If you have any orders, suggestions or questions, you may e-mail us at
[2]sales@clevelandparkwine.com or call (202) 363-4265.
References
1. http://www.clevelandparkwine.com/
2. mailto:sales@clevelandparkwine.com

I borrowed all these pictures from the PALAZZO Napa Red Wine Facebook Page : hope you do not mind Scott and Phaedra. Let me know if you do, I can take them out. Cheers, TONY
We currently have both the 1) PALAZZO Napa Valley 2006 Red Wine, $59.99, 14.2% alcohol by volume, as well as the 2) 2008 PALAZZO Cabernet Franc, $84.99, 14.8% alcohol by volume for sale. They were originally presented to us by owner Scott Palazzo himself.

What follows below is my response to the winery today, Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013 to their lovely invitation to me. I bet that these two reds now with this extra bottle-age are rocking! Cheers everyone.

I wrote this to Phaedra at PALAZZO , Scott Palazzo that I met here years ago of his own winery in Napa Valley with his Cabernet Franc and his Napa Red, both of which we have here on our shelves at Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits. Sorry I will not be able to attend the Summer Harvest Party of 2103! Oh well, maybe next year. Cheers, TONY

Would like to attend but can't get off work : thanks for the invite. I appreciate that. Sold some of the 2008 Cabernet Franc ( $84.99 ) to a " new " customer of ours to take as a gift from him and the Chinese Embassy back to China as a gift! That pleased me, it will be something new and special as many people know of Napa and Cabernet Sauvignon but do not know of Napa and Cabernet Franc. Cheers Phaedra, thanks for the invite. We also have the Napa Valley Red Wine 2006, $59.99, on our shelves. Have a great Summer Harvest Party. How are things going so far? Everything on track? Cheers, let us know. Go to our Facebook page please and LIKE us as I will go to yours now and LIKE you. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/23/13 Happy Tuesday- it's nicer here sunny and hot but not as humid, ohhhhh, what a relief it is! Popular old jingle ... TONY

I WROTE this to Dave McIntyre a few minutes ago on his post here on Facebook and am now copying and pasting it here for you all. Cheers, Happy Monday morning, July 22nd, 2013 TONY PS : I copied, pasted here this picture above from the BOORDY Vineyards' Facebook page : hope no one minds? Cheers.I drank and enjoyed a bottle of red and a bottle of white BOORDY Vineyards, Hyde, MD - established 1945 - wine last night Dave, " a bottle of rose instead " went to Michel and so I cannot comment on that : but boththe red blend and the off-dry white Vidal were delightful, even with the heat and humidity, a real treat for me. Drank the red , the 2011 South Mountain Red I drank with an Impotoyable glass that I got back in the late eighties and even chilled it was lovely, not as generous or as much fruit-forward as it was tasted with us on this past Wednesday with Susan Rayner of BOORDY. The 2011 Vidal Blanc was open and floral and delicately fragrant and with no edge and very pleasing to sip as we were before dinner. It had lessened perhaps in it's intensity but may have been even more enjoyable to sip as we were , also having been opened for us at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits this past Wednesday by Susan when she visited us to taste the two of us on current wines from BOORDY available. WE tasted only those that were made with Maryland-grown grapes. It was refreshing and a delight. Good to see Rob Deford and his son and wife, Susan and Lucie Morton are all on such a fine track these days. Cheers, can't wait for your " big news for ‪#‎mdwine‬ " ... Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn 7/22/13

I'm having so much fun copying and pasting and making my life so much easier these days. I know that the result is a little bit like a frantic, erratic, zagged and mixed tapestry but I think it's more spontaneous, too. Hope you do not mind.

I do want to include some more information here for you all to read and ponder and hopefully enjoy.

Michel Dumas and I also tasted the 1) Chardonnay, the 2) Seyval Blanc and the 3) dry rose.

On this tasting our favorite for now and this horribly hot weather was the dry rose. It had it all : brightness, freshness, easy to drink with or without a meal.

The 2011 Chardonnay coming from a difficult vintage had something in the finish that I did not like so well. It had some oak that grew stronger with the wine being open in the bottle. By the time I got it home and drank some the next day with my wife that likes white wines it was a bit too strong in oak for me, or just at that edge for me.

The Seyval Blanc was quite nice but it's about to be done for this vintage so we will have to see what the next batch which will be from fruit added from Pennsylvania will be like? More on that later.

The wines are solid and well-balanced and getting stronger and stronger as the new vines mature. With Lucie Morton's help Rob DeFord uprooted now for a third time his vines and is starting fresh all over again. I like that spirit. What Susan said was that when Rob told Lucie his initial response to planting " new " vines he said : " absolutely not ", that Lucie responded : " well then I guess you do not need my help ". The rest is history and now it just is a matter of waiting to see " what we can see " , that's what I just added here.

OHHH, Lucie Morton also said , according to Susan Rayner that, plant the right vines and BOORDY VINEYARDS can make the best wine in Maryland. I like that. As I said, time will tell and I am pulling for you Rob and you Lucie! Cheers, you have my vote.

I can't wait to see you Rob again after so many years. I can't wait to have you come to our store and do another wine-tasting for us since your last one was in 1985 or 1986 I believe when I managed Burka's Fine Wines?

I wrote this and posted this on Facebook and am now copying and posting it here on Chatwine.blogspot.com. It has been fun to work with Domaine Select Wines now for several years. I first encountered them at a Bacchus Imports Portfolio Wine-Tasting at Nora' s organic restaurant in Northwest, Washington D.C. : and remember being bowled over by two wines that I tasted there. I spoke with our local rep Sal Furfari of Bacchus and ordered the wines through him, had them delivered , and then asked him to arrange a visit at our store Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 with Daniel Hubbard. Daniel came bearing many wonderful wines for us to sample at Cleveland Park which included some of these Austrian and German, and Italian wines ... and the rest is history. It's been a fine working relationship with DOMAINE SELECT. I still have their small, almost pocket-size ( actually double the size ) catalogue of wines that I look at from time to time that I got years ago at Nora's wine-tasting I believe? Anyway, come check these out and others that we have from the DOMAINE SELECT portfolio of really fine wines that are specific to their origins, their grapes, and what the two can do with the least amount of human intervention possible. Fine wines, cheers, thanks Daniel, Anne, Sam, Sal and DOMAINE SELECT of course! TONY Happy Sunday, July 21st, 2013.

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Thanks Daniel Hubbard for this excellent weekend wine-tasting here! We also have the bottle the lady is holding there of the PETER JACOB KUHR " Jacobus " 2011 Rheingau Riesling Trocken from Germany's Rheingau, $22.99, Qualitatswein, 11.5% alcohol by volume, from WEINGUT PETER JAKOB KUHR D-65375 Oestrich from DSWE Imports in New York ... that is also a Demeter - biodynamic wine. Cheers : it's a real beauty this 2011 Jacobus Rheingau Riesling Trocken. Sam Andersen that now works for DSWE brought these recently to Michel Dumas and Anthony Quinn ( me ) and we bought them immediately as we had a real need for it again. Cheers, Happy Friday, July 19th, 2013 everyone. Stay cool and hydrated so you can come here and buy this and enjoy it this weekend with a meal. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

I WROTE THIS a few minutes ago and posted it on the CAMBRIA WINERY Facebook page. ( I borrowed this picture, copied and pasted it here from the CAMBRIA WINERY Facebook page - hope you do not mind? Looked for a picture of the Syrah bottle? ) It popped up on my screen and prompted me to think of the Syrah and how about four or so months ago - maybe six months ago ( ? ) Michel Dumas and Anthony QUINN ( me ) tasted it with Scott and started to promote it here in Cleveland Park our neighborhood where Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits is located at : 3423 Connecticut Avenue N/W. Washington D.C. 20008 202-363-4265. Scott believed in it and tasted us on it at least twice and we bought it and have been enjoying selling it ever since. I will add more but am at home typing this. I will add the price, the vintage, the alcohol level, etcetera.

We like the balance, the flavor, the fact that the alcohol is in check, and it's versatility. A fine effort on the part of CAMBRIA WINERY : bravo!

I especially like your CAMBRIA WINERY small-production Syrah. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn that Scott of Munument wines tasted us on at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and that we had him taste with our customers at one of our weekend tastings. We sold a whole lot of it, too : thanks to the wine, to Scott and our hard work here in our Cleveland Park neighborhood of Northwest, Washington D.C. 20008 about a month or so ago. It was fun to introduce our customers to a " hidden gem " of yours that, in fact you make very little of , and that we can delight in sharing with our customers that know all your other wines but not necessarily this one. Cheers, Happy Sunday, July 21st, 2013 check us out on our Facebook page at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits

Friday, July 19, 2013

I Copied and PASTED this here just now from the post I made on the Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Facebook page a few minutes ago. Enjoy, cheers, grazie!!! I will finish this as soon as I can. Enjoy " as is " and please " stay-tuned " for more. TONY

THIS IS WHAT I WROTE and just posted on the Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Facebook Page a few minutes ago. Originally Jermemy had helped me to get more of the CHATEAU GRAVAS 2009 Sauternes back on our shelves. He's our excellent salesperson from importer Kysela Pere Et Fils in Winchester, Virginia that we have worked with for years here in our Cleveland Park neighborhood of Northwest, Washington D.C. 20008 202-363-4265 : great values and fine service, too. Thanks Jeremy and thanks Fran. Happy Friday, July 19th, 2013 Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Two days ago Lin came by and was shopping in the Bordeaux section of the store. I went over to help her pick both a good dry red and a good dry white. That was pretty easy. Then she said : " And here's the Sauternes that I want. " She paused and looked me in the eyes ad said : " Do you remember how three weeks ago you helped me buy this Sauternes? " I responded : " yes ". She added : " Well, I took it home and shared it with my friends and they loved it. " Wow, I loved hearing that. Thanks for sharing that with me Lin. I'm glad that went so well, now let's see about these two other dry bottles. By the way, the Sauternes is the 2009 CHATEAU GRAVAS half-bottle, $17.99, 13.5% alcohol by volume, they are recoltants in Brasac. It's quite smooth and elegant, not heavy. Actually quite nice now even with this heat and humidity, and quite a deal, too. Cheers, come by and get some yourselves and enjoy it all by itself after your meal : it can be the entire end to a lovely evening-meal. Cheers, Happy Friday, July 19th, 2013. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Thursday, July 18, 2013

This is a picture of Jucelia Vicar that had this picture of her taken at DOM CANDIDO Winery and posted it earlier on Facebook. I saw it, was inspired by it, her and DOM CANDIDO Winery and wrote all this earlier this evening in response. I hope you do not mind my copying and pasting it here Jucelia? If you do let me know and I can delete it. Obregado e Tim Tim Jucelia! LOve your smile. It's Thursday night here at home now in northern Virginia at 9:18PM. Take care everyone and enjoy this, TONY

I JUST WROTE and posted this on Facebook, it was inspired by seeing a picture of someone I know through Facebook and through cyberspace - that I am thrilled to know - and cannot wait to meet. She was at DOM CANDIDO, and I will copy all of that here as well. Cheers, Happy Thursday July 18th, 2013 : been more than a year and I LOVED my ten-days in Brasil and have come away with a wealth of knowledge and experiences, and am eternally grateful for it all. Here is what I just wrote below , enjoy. TONY

Only one of my " all-time " FAVORITE wineries in Brasil that is proactive and still keeps in contact with me and values my opinion and says so to me even now as it's been a year since my visit there and I enjoyed thoroughly the time I spent there, the wines I tried, meeting the family and spending a lot of time with winemaker Mr. Paris and owner Roberto, and enjoying their humble and kind interest and their welcome of me, not knowing me at all at first, and still treating me with respect and kindness, and offering me a meal as well. Breaking bread with someone and sharing wine with them is like being welcomed into their family - like in a broad sense I was an extension of the family. I liked that. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn - and I look forward to promoting them in the United States. They will always be at the top of my list to help because they have kept in touch and not lost faith in me. Cheers, obregado, bom dia ... TONY 7/18/13

I wrote this earlier today, Wednesday, July 17th, 2013, inspired by seeing the picture I took awhile ago of a FRITZ HAAG German Riesling bottle @ Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits in our Cleveland Park neighborhood in Northwest, Washington D.C. 20008 where I have now managed the wine department for fourteen years! I first encountered the Rudi Wiest Selection of Fine German wines back in 1989 or so when I worked at Laurent Selections along with Linda and Susan that managed the office, with President Laurent Vonderheyden, with Pascale Salvadori, Alan Cohen, Ed the warehouse manager, and Mark Nichols briefly, too. A wonderful trip down Memory Lane from 1989-present, Wednesday, July 17th, 2013! Wow, that's many lifetimes, many lifelines ago. And still here to tell about it : gotta LOVE that, I certainly do. Cheers, TONY ... and enjoy ...From importer Rudi Wiest in California, he imports really good wines from germany! I'm looking now on my desk at home at an old 1990 catelogue of German wines tasted here in Baltimore , Maryland years ago of the great 1989 vintage and the same wine of 1989, 1) Kabinett was $15.99 on the shelf, the 2) Spatlese was $24.99 a bottle, and the 3) Auslese was just around $39-$40 a bottle on the shelf, with magnums of the 4) Auslese, numbered and signed were $90 cost to us, and I do not know if that's for one bottle, for three or for six bottles? I suspect it for one bottle! Wow, what fun, what history. I went to this tasting years ago and came away with a wealth of stories, experiences and positive vibes, mostly all that pointed me into making this statement : " Germany makes really fine wines, my problem never is which ones to buy, but how much can I afford to buy! ". Cheers, come by and buy some of this fine Braunenberger that we have On Special : just a few bottles left! TONY 7/17/13I wrote this on the web page of Fritz Haag, Brauneberger , Mosel, German wines earlier this evening. I was referring to a catalogue that Laurent Selections Limited 3434 Bledensberg Rd, Brentwood, Maryland , 20722 Tel: 301-927-1105 Telex : 9102501284 Fax : 301-927-2633 offered when we did the 1989 Rudi Wiest Selections / Cellars International, Inc German Wine Tasting in Baltimore, Maryland back in 1990 sometime? Seems like so many lifetimes ago! Cheers and enjoy, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Wednesday night, July 17th, 2013 Twenty-seven vineyards were represented from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheingau, Rheinpfalz, Franken, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Baden and Wuerttember regions of Germany! What an experience of a lifetime! Wish I could do it all over again. THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND ... lyrics from a very popular song once , long ago ... TONY

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

THE HEAT IS OPPRESSIVE, really hard with the heat-advisory and my comment to my wife today was : stay hydrated. I say the same to you all, be careful as you go about your business and pleasure today. I guess a far number of you are off and away at the beach or at the lake or on an overseas trip, a cruise. I just got a great picture on Facebook from the Irish Tourist Bureau that looked pretty amazing and I have a feeling that they do not have our oppressive humidity? SO : we have to stay fresh, alert, chipper, happy, hydrated, bushy-tailed, energized, hopeful, and informed, too. Wow, that's a lot, so much pressure.

ACTUALLY, DON'T SWEAT IT , don't sweat any of it. Come by and be a part of our Velvet Revolution, Suffrage, Unum and Declaration. We are bursting out, we are doing this together, HERE this weekend, Friday to be exact. We take the good with the bad, we focus on the good, we sorrow for the loss of the young 31-year-old that played the character Finn on the popular hit show " Glee " and all the other national and international news that is hitting us from left-to-right and we watch together, one after the other on Net Flicks : " A Room With A View " and " An Enchanted April " . Watched those both this past week with my wife and felt really good each and every time. Both have invaluable lessons, characters and great dialogue, great scenery, and messages both subliminal and overt that either may whisper at or shout at us. I loved it, I loved it all. I would also add : watch " Babette's Feast " as it is my all-time favorite movie t o show why someone might enjoy a glass of wine: the dinner that Babette fixed for the small group of local villagers was and is priceless. Everyone should struggle through the English subtitles to watch this movie.

SO : even with the heat and the humidity, you will feel rejuvenated after you watch any or all three of these movies. Wine, too is a part of all of them, or other alcoholic beverages. YES, I am now constantly reminded that it's not always all about wine! Cheers.

I HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED Sunday, Bastille Day ?!? I'm a big fan as you all have guessed by now. I celebrated with my family with a dinner that I grilled outside. Before that, however I served some Brie and goat's cheese, crackers and some refreshing off-dry Vouvray 100% Chenin Blanc, and some chilled dry Loire Valley Chinon 100% Cabernet Franc that was given to us from Dan Terrasa of William Harrison Imports : both pleasing and enjoyable as we valiantly fought off both the intense heat and humidity and lack of any breeze, and those pesky female mosquitoes. No easy feat, and eventually we had to retire inside to the comfort of our house.

BUT TO CELEBRATE while outside I POPPED the cork on a bottle of the FLEURY " Fleur D'Europe " brut non-vintage champagne from Courteron, Champagne, France. It's is produced from organic grapes and bio-dynamic methods. It IMMEDIATELY hit the spot for all of us. We all really loved it : toasty, bready, yeasty, a lovely cream spread over the entire palate of creamy nuts that lingers and continues on and on as we sip and hold it. It's elegant and refined, gentle and tender and pleasing and rich in it's full-spread of flavors and nuanced " taste-bites -like-sound-bites ". It was a treat and it was a great way to celebrate Bastille Day chez nous. It somehow made the weather and the female mosquitoes stay their distance and respect our space. The garden in full-bloom also never looked better from the various shades oh Hydrangeas - a deep pink to the most delicate coral and baby blue and lavender and cream colors, the lavender Flox as well as the white Flox, the Cone-flowers, the Black-Eyed Susans, the intense Burgundy-red bee-balm, the double-blossomed deep orange day lilies, the lighter-LARGER Mango-colored day lilies, the delicate lavender and yellow Easter lilies, the varied lavender and purple butterfly bushes, and the delicate white flowers that look like the neck of a goose or swan. It all worked it's magic for us all. We sell the FLEUR champagne On Special for $41.99, regularly $44.99 a bottle. A real special treat.Go to : champagne-fleury.fr for more info.

THIS PAST SATURDAY Abi Huntington our local rep for Free Run Wine Merchants poured the L.MAWBY Blanc de Noirs " Leelanau Penninsula " Non-Vintage Brut sparkling wine, Traditional Method, #1052, 11% alcohol by volume, $27.99 from Suttons Bay, Michigan. WE also sell it in the 375ml bottle size for $16.99. It BOWLED Michel Dumas and Anthony Quinn ( me ) when we tasted it with Abi's boss John-Paul. We decided to buy it immediately and to pour it at Abi's next wine-tasting here which was this past Friday, July 13th, 2013 : a prequel to Bastille Day, and a mighty-fine way to get the ball rolling for that. It sold well in both sizes. Thanks John-Paul and Abi : we are all delighted to have it here with us.

WITH JOHN-PAUL we arranged for the owner Lawrence ( the " L " in L. MAWBY ) to be here pouring it and many of the other fine sparkling wines that he makes and sells in Michigan, including the first one we sold, " Sex " - a Pinot Grigio blush blend that became an immediate hit for the many bachelorette parties. It will be thrilling to get Lawrence here himself and to finally meet him. We LOVE his sparkling wines, they sell quite well here and we have to order more. Lawrence will be here on Saturday, August 24th, 2013 from 2-6PM. JOIN us, MARK your calendars NOW as to not forget this important date! For more info please go to : www.lmawby.com 4519 S. Elm Valley Rd., Suttons Bay, Michigan, 49682.

BUT HEY, I CAN'T FORGET that we are SO MUCH MORE than just our wine.

TODAY, WE ARE Everything, we have to be EVERYTHING as you as a group of customers TODAY are interested in everything. We love this , we really do.

HERE Are ALE, BEER & CIDER Selections from Santos Rivera :

1) ALE Aged Over CANADIAN Cherry Wood Chips W/ Maple Syrup Added, Limited Edition INNIS & GUNN ( $7.99, 750ml bottle, 8.3% alcohol by volume, product of Scotland, www.innisandgunn.com, contains barley malt ) : " To our knowledge this is the first time that Cherrywood has been used to mature a beer. The result is a really full-bodied Scotch Ale , with a rich lasting finish". Unlock the flavour , carefully matured for 49 days prior to bottling. I just wrote on their Facebook page and they have already responded : NOW that's what I call being proactive. I will say more later. It's a group effort after all. Have any of you had it already? What does the cherry wood add; a sweetness, a toastiness, both?!?

HOT OFF THE PRESS : Bill of Capitol Eagle and Glen Bulloss of Smuttynose Brewing Co. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire were just here tasting :

1) The " new " BOLD ROCK Hard Cider , Virginia Apple ( On Special for $9.99 a 6-pack, Gluten-free , go to : www.boldroack.com, also Facebook , bottled by Bold Rock Partners LP Nellysford, VA ) : soft , full , round, pleasing, smooth and floral fruit apples just waft poetic everywhere : so pleasing , so easy, a delight : not heavy, not really hard for being hard! I like it. I predict it will be a BIG HIT. " On the banks of the Rockfish River in the the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Wintergreen, VA. ... ".

AND the :

2) Summer Weizen Ale from SMUTTYNOSE Brewing Co. , Ale Brewed with Chamomile flowers ( On Special for $9.99 a 6-pack of 12-ounce bottles Portsmouth, NH ) is here already and Santos is putting some on display today for you. It's got some real body, great complexity, some GRAVITAS, some mellowness and some great accents of herbs - Chamomile flowers that give extra taste and flavor and yet are quite smooth in the finish, and lingering. I like it better as it warms up, less bite and edge, like the British drink their beer - not cold, Try it out both ways, warmer for sipping and cold with meals. Cheers.

ALSO HOT OFF THE PRESSES : Just tried Christopher Regan of Washington Wholesale Wholesalers, our local rep, the " new and exciting " MARIE BRIZARD Depuis 1755 Liqueur WATERMELON that he mixed with some orange juice and a spl;ash of vodka. I would prefer it mixed with some mango juice. Chilled it would be really refreshing and fun. It will sell for $25.99 a bottle. Let us know if you are interested? Cheers. Go to :www.mariebrizard.com

WE NEED Our Ravi-Fix-UPDATE On LIQUEUR & LIQUOR :

1) Imperial Brandy TORRES 10 Gran Reserva from TORRES ( On Special for $22.99, 40% alcohol by volume, since 1946, ) : "... Torres Brandy. The careful selection of grapes ... and long aging in premium oak barrels have produced a brandy of extraordinary aromas and flavours... ". Go to : www.torreswines.com for more information. Cheers.

2) Sambuca Superiore Liquore from CASTELLO MIO ( $21.99 a 750ml bottle, 38% alcohol by volume, product of Italy , family made since 1898 , go to : www.castlebrandsinc.com for more info ) : " Ignite your evening with the cool, rich taste of CASTELLO MIO Sambuca Superiore... served neat and garnished with three coffee beans. If you are feeling adventurous add a little flame and light up the night." Sounds like a whole lotta fun!

1) Anjos de Portugal DOC Vinho Verde, a slightly sparkling, low-alcohol dry white blend of 40% Arinto, 30% Trajadura and 30% Loureiro indigenous grapes from Portugal ( $8.99 a 750ml bottle, from Felgueiras, Portugal ) : Light, crisp, refreshing : THE MOST PERFECT white wine to drink when outside in this heat and humidity, NOTHING better or more refreshing or that will leave you still feeling fine after drinking it in this intense humidity and heat! Cheers.

2) 2004 Dry RIESLING, from Marlborough, New Zealand and made by FORREST Estate ( On Special for $14.99 a bottle, regularly $28.99 a bottle, 12% alcohol by volume ) : made by owners Dr. John and his wife Brigid this aged, dry Riesling is AMAZING a true breath of fresh air, sublime, wonderful, balanced, flavorful, filled with great Riesling flavors, still alive and bright and full of conversation and spunk and spit and polish and fire and sass and character! AND : what a GREAT DEAL, too! Unbelievable deal and price. We had a customer drive here having tried it with her neighbor that bought a case this Saturday on the spot when he tried it, and she came and bought her six bottles, and kept saying to herself : " Should I buy more?!? " YES, everyone should buy a minimum of six bottles and actually immediately buy more once they try it! Cheers. A real STEAL. RUN here to get some.

3) 2011 " Cuvee Desiree " white blend of Pinot Gris and some Gewurztraminer from the Willamette Valley, made by GENIUS LOCI( $22.99 a bottle , 12% alcohol by volume - Genius Loci means in Latin : Spirit of Place , from McMinnville, Oregon, 504-472-4727, go to :www.geniuslociwines.com for more info ) : it's a nice full, rich, textured, creamy flavor of elegance and a like a grape-wine water-bed that cradles your palate and makes it an ABSOLUTE DELIGHT to drink and sip on... lulling, pleasing, reassuring ... a MUST-TRY for a nice occasion. A couple with their two children LOVED it this weekend and will buy some as it's a perfect foil when you need " Five Minutes Peace " like Mrs Large the Hippo needed from her three children in the children's story that we used to read our children. Cheers. Gives much more than five minutes of peace, fortunately.

ROSE :

1) Le Petit Rouviere 2012 Rose from La Cadiere-D'Azur-Var-France ( $9.99 a bottle, 13% alcohol by volume ) : Michel and I liked the dry and crisp and firm body of this southern French rose that's a dead-ringer from a Provence rose. It really is one, and the price is INSANE, too. Cheers. Beautiful delicate rose or salmon color.

RED :

1) Malbec-Syrah 2011 dry red Argentinia blend from their Valle De Uco in Mendoza , from DiamAndes ( $10.99, 14.5% alcohol by volume, go to for more info : www.diamandes.com ) : a heartier, beefier, richer more flavorful tasting dry red blend that has pepper and spice and real toasty-roasted fruit flavors, too. BEST with a meal, when you grill, when you season-well your food. Cheers : GREAT deal, too.

2) Cotes Du Rhone 2009 from the CHATEAU MONT-THABOR ( $14.99, 13.5% alcohol, from Earl Stehelin Daniel, he wrote me and thanked me for promoting his wines this past weekend here with Chris Bartha on the 14th of July-Juillet weekend,Bedarrides, France ) : a delightful, elegant, spiffy, perky and lively and fresh- JOYOUS and balanced bottle/blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Cinsault and 10% Mourvedre. Medium-to-light-bodied, chill it 30 minutes and enjoy thoroughly NOW A BIG WINNER...

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY 3-Part Non-Sparkling-Still-Wine SALE :

1) BUY ANY non-sparkling wine over $20 a bottle and SAVE 20% OFF the marked sticker price.

2) BUY ANY six or more bottles of non-sparkling wine and SAVE 15% OFF the marked sticker prices.

3) BUY ANY twelve or more non-sparkling wines and SAVE 20% OFF the marked sticker prices.

FRIDAY, July 19th, 2013 ( 5-8PM ) : owners Jim and Susan of DEMOCRACY VINEYARDS will be here from 5-8PM to try four of their FABulous Monticello, Virginia wines : Two Reds and Two Whites : 1) 2011 Suffrage dry red of 100% Chambourcin, $19.99, 13% alcohol by volume, lighter, brighter, more fresh bright red toasty berry fruit flavors 2) Velvet Revolution 2011 Reserve dry red blend of 25% Cabernet Franc, 25% Chambourcin, 25% Merlot and 25% Petit Verdot , $19.99 , 13% alcohol by volume... a bit more weight to this blend, still fruit-forward and very nice to drink, BOTH slightly-chilled and the whites ... 3) Unum 2011 Viognier, $19.99 - soft, round, pretty, floral and fresh - nice sipping ... 13% alcohol by volume and the 4) Declaration dry white blend of 34% Chardonnay. 33% Viognier, and 33% Petit Manseng , 13% alcohol by volume, it's the most angular and edgy and with good piercing acids that thoroughly cut-through flavors an d tastes and work really well with food. ALL the WINES are being now made from young vines and so they are, as a result, less-complex, more pleasing and easier to drink. They will mature and so will the flavors. They are PERFECT for this heat and humidity. Cheers, This will be Jim and Susan's fourth visit here I believe?

SATURDAY, July 20th, 2013 ( 2-6PM ) : Mark Congdon of J. W. SIEG will come here and pour a FABulous selection of Italian wines from Diego DeCorte that really impressed us when we tasted them a couple of months ago with Diego. This will be quite special, and Diego himself will come more of his selections on Saturday, August 31st, 2013 from 2-6PM. So JOIN US for Part One of this excellent Italian tasting which includes a wonderful MEROTTO Prosecco that I found to be wonderfully compelling and appealing and entertaining - having me fully-entertained as I tried it. What a wonderful Le Fare Brut Extra l Prosecco, we have it here for $20.99. A "Must-Try "!!!!!

I KNOW I HAVE FORGOTTEN MANY THINGS but it's time to send this your way now. Cheers and thanks for everyone. Check us out on Facebook at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and follow us on Twitter at : cpwinespirits and also wineenabler. Cheers, and THANKS AGAIN for everything. TONY

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When you think American wines, your taste buds might expect something from Napa or Sonoma, but it might be time to raise a glass to Texas. Manuel Bojorquez reports on winemakers in the Lone Star State.

About Me

Spent the first half of my life overseas with my family and the second half with my wife building our family together here in the United States. ALSO : I consider myself a wine-enabler and someone that , as an artist , always likes to " add to the equation " instead of duplicating it. I love to share my passion for both art and wine and consider the two to be related and indispensable for me in living my life fully and creatively where I am not afraid to stand alone if need be.
At this stage in my life now I am launching into a new directions and have two new pursuits to help me do this : 1) I am now consulting people on the business, love and pursuit of wine both on a private and a public/ business level and so have established my new blog site for that called : chatwinebusinesssavy.blogspot.com to reach out to you , as well as 2) a " new " wine business venture importing the wines of Brazil to the United States called BRALVIN Brazilian Wine & Alcohol at : anthony@bralvin.com as well as : www.bralvin.com. Cheers,AAQ